So many candidates, so little opportunity to find out which exactly which one is right for you. Wait a minute, are we talking about dating or finding an apartment? While searching for suitable dates via the internet is certainly not the most authentic approach, there’s a lot to be learned from such a system when fittingly applied to the inanimate yet life-impacting relationship you’ll have with where you choose to live.

Hubbuzz is the closest thing yet to a match.com for apartment hunting.

read more…

As stated just previously via Spiegel’s review of , an impressive 43.9% of Barcelona’s workforce is represented by the creative class.

Via the google earth image, you can see the cultural amenities centered in the historic pedestrian district and the fruits of the 1992 Olympics on the far right. Notice how transportation takes up increasingly more real estate each year, from a miniscule amount in the historic core, to its surrounding neighborhoods directly north, to

read more…

You’ve seen lots of rankings of cool cities based on opinions, but the city of Hamburg, Germany took it a little more seriously on behalf of their own cause and hired a firm to find out just which of the European cities were indeed the coolest and the best at attracting the creative class, now and in the future. Here’s their list of the top five, profiled in Spiegel,  leading European news site:

Copenhagen This beautiful, progressive city enjoys a GDP of $76,000/capita and population growth

read more…

On one hand, you’ve got Liverpool, the home of the Beatles. On the other hand, you’ve got Elements, the first beta community to crowdsource a restaurant, and in Syracuse, the first beta community to crowdsource a building for artists and musicians. What happens if you combined all three?

You’d then have the Liverpool Cultural Cafe, a nonprofit-initiated bistro by day, bar by night third place to develop local musicians and other artists. The kicker is that not only is the project

read more…

As with most buildings, the exterior and interior design of hotels rarely provide an expression of the lifestyle of the people staying there, other than perhaps their income. At the same price range, most hotel rooms pretty much look alike. However, one hotel is breaking that mold, and hopefully it will set higher standards for how residential buildings are truer to their tenants inside and out.

Based on the pictures, it’s easy to see that Nylo Hotels is beating to a different drummer. Each

read more…

You may be among the millions of people who wish their workplace was a little more, shall we say, inspiring. Well, if you want an example of what such an office could look like, you may want to visit eOffice in London. Click here for a larger photo.

First of all, it’s in the heart of Soho (see pic on our About page), the media hub of London and a magnet for cool cafes, bars and coffeehouses, creatives and entrepreneurs. What good is a an inspired workplace if it’s in the middle of an

read more…

Continuing our look from yesterday at where Beta Communities are being formed…

Syracuse
Where will the creatives go in Syracuse when places begin to gentrify? That won’t be a problem at 200 South Geddes, where developer Rick Destitio is transforming a 5-story historic factory building into a artist-musician live-work center. Not only that, but he’s sponsoring a Beta Community that will eventually consist of 500 of the city’s most progressive, culturally creative, entrepreneurial and/or

read more…

Here’s a rundown on the progress of Beta Communities in cities across the country:

Washington DC

- A VIBE beta community to crowdsource a progressive new downtown restaurant, (since named Elements) now has 108 members and counting five months into the process, and it doesn’t even have a location yet (somewhere around 14th and U Street) . In the meantime, the beta community has convinced the business owner to grow from 1000 to 3000 s.f.; to go vegetarian, organic, local farm-oriented (except

read more…

When one thinks of wind energy, especially via those massive wind farms, small businesses don’t necessarily come to mind. That’s changing very quickly in more ways than one.

First, a clean energy broker/aggregator, Clean Currents is making it easy for small businesses to switch to wind and other renewable energies (solar, geothermal) by linking them to the best ‘green power’ prices, often lower than standard rates! Clean Current locates the electricity provider offering the best deal. They

read more…

It’s been kind of an oxymoron - attainably-priced urban lofts. With the help of the unrealized potential of downtown Kansas City and a full repertoire of government financing programs, creatives can get their hands on rather attractive lofts starting at $500/mo. for a 1BR/1BA to $620/mo. for a 2BR/2BA, at the Professional Building Lofts.

These aren’t run-down units, but newly renovated loft-style residences with built-in washer and dryer, stainless steel appliances and wood floors, plus a

read more…